Unemployed? Hate Your Crummy Job? Start Producing!

Remember back when that phrase had some significance? Before we lost our jobs, or had our hours cut? Or before we had to get that second job to pay
the bills? Yes, for many of us, there was once a time when we put in our forty hours, and looked forward to Friday.

The good old days.

Like many of you, I am underemployed. Of my circle of friends, many of whom have perfectly good degrees, I can safely say that half are
un/underemployed, and of the remaining half? Well, I bet most of them didn't shell out for four years of college just to be a line cook.

The most common complaint I hear is that they have too much idle time on their hands, and no money to spend. There is a solution, and I'd like to
share it: make something.

Each and every person reading this post has something to offer. From growing food to crafting furniture, from making clothing to brewing beer; the
possibilities are only limited by your imagination and inclination.

You can't just sit around and wait for someone to employ you. You can't Occupy anything and expect to have your job handed back to you. We
are way beyond that point. The bankers aren't going to listen, Industry has left for greener shores, and the government can't even pay its own bills
(let alone yours).

The biggest blunder we ever committed was sliding into a full-bore service economy.

America? It's time to start producing again. Let's kick it old school.

Um, ok, so who the heck is gonna BUY THE PRODUCT?? One of your unemployed friends? Or one of your line-cook friends who are paying off several tens
of thousands in school loans?

If work is that SCARCE in your area, (or any other area for that matter) then nobody is gonna buy these home-made, old-school products. They are
gonna buy the BARE-BONES NECESSITIES in life such as FOOD, and RENT, and GAS. If folks are all out of work or working low wage jobs with expensive
degrees nobody will buy the product silly!

Bad economy, no jobs, people working minimum wage with EXPENSIVE degrees = WE'RE SCREWED!!!!! No little hand crafted nick-nack, or gadget, or gizmo
is gonna cut it and make someone a success story. It wont even make them a success until the economy is good again and then you can get a REAL PAYING
job instead of the little non-profiting HOBBY. Jeez, come on now!!

However, we can trade for goods and services. Let me put it to you this way: if you could trade food for an Adirondack your neighbor knocked
together, would you still go to Wallymart for a deck chair? Or, if you are, say, an unemployed teacher, wouldn't it be dandy to trade tutoring for
that same Adirondack chair?

And that's the catch. Trade is the only way this really works, but what else do you have to do with all that free time?

ignore the other post! i think your ideas is excellent,for sanity,pride,education,self worth,and you may even be able to make a few bucks doing it!

you wouldn't believe how good you feel about yourself,and what you accomplished/created.
especially if another enjoys it as well!!!
i started drawing very young,and by high shcool i was painting and airbrushing jean jackets for people,at $25 a pop!
i started getting creative after that and i started painting native and cave art and symbols on rocks i found
here and there. people loved them!!! they were 'unique'. they go for $5 - $30 each, (size does matter!)
i've painted a variety ofdifferent themes on whole walls (any thing fom h.r.giger, to a hole smashed in the wall exposing the pyramids outside,in the
distance!
this art makes you good money! i've spent up to and beyond 40 hours of work!
i'm also a tattoo artist.
the point is,everyone knows how to do something,even if it doesn't bring in cash,it will make you feel like your important,and feel good about
yourself.

try painting symbols on some rocks to start. give a few away for gifts,you'll be surprised by the reaction!
peace

However, we can trade for goods and services. Let me put it to you this way: if you could trade food for an Adirondack your neighbor knocked
together, would you still go to Wallymart for a deck chair? Or, if you are, say, an unemployed teacher, wouldn't it be dandy to trade tutoring for
that same Adirondack chair?

And that's the catch. Trade is the only way this really works, but what else do you have to do with all that free time?

Then folks will barter FOOD, and FUEL and survival items such as bullets. NOBODY will care for little hand-made nick-nacks or gizmos or gadgets if it
CAME to the point where it becomes that bad that we will be bartering!

You are right. I started my own home business going on one and a half years ago. Hand made goats milk soaps and organic creams, lotions, and now
expanding into at least 6 new product lines. I started with 2 goats, now have a small herd.

I started selling to friends. Then did some craft fairs, and now have a regular weekly spot at my local farmer's market. Several shops are now
carrying my products too. I went from making a few dollars a week, to now around $2,500. a month, and Christmas is just around the corner. I expect
sales to double in the next 4 months. I am building my online store. Who knows what will happen after it's finished.

Yes, it's hard work, and long hours. But, I did build it myself, no matter what Obama says. I'm 61 years old, was retired. If I can do it...so can
you!

I also use my goods for bartering for fresh veggies and fruit, and even a hand made quilt. The sky's the limit when it comes to bartering. I've
bartered for goods I ended up selling for a lot of money.

Originally posted by Eidolon23
You can't just sit around and wait for someone to employ you. You can't Occupy anything and expect to have your job handed back to you. We
are way beyond that point. The bankers aren't going to listen, Industry has left for greener shores, and the government can't even pay its own bills
(let alone yours).

The biggest blunder we ever committed was sliding into a full-bore service economy.

America? It's time to start producing again. Let's kick it old school.

How wonderfully, marvelously wise you are, Eidolon.

I moved from city life to country life a few years ago to do some caregiving. I thought I would be bored out of my mind, but, no, I love it.

The folk around here are so resourceful. They make all kinds of stuff and they can take care of themselves. Some uninformed blokes call them
"backwards."

You are right. I started my own home business going on one and a half years ago. Hand made goats milk soaps and organic creams, lotions, and
now expanding into at least 6 new product lines. I started with 2 goats, now have a small herd.

Hand-made goats! Is there a better sort? Des, you is one-of-a-kind. The good kind.

Originally posted by reficul
The point is,everyone knows how to do something,even if it doesn't bring in cash,it will make you feel like your important, and feel good about
yourself.

Thank you for sharing, that was awesome. Even awesome-er (not a word, totally should be), is that quote above. Because it's true. The main side
effect of unemployment, or even having a job which doesn't provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, is feeling crappy about yourself.

Making something is an instant boost to your self-esteem and well being.

That's fantastic, Des. You just outlined a direct path to small-scale success, and I'm very grateful. It's funny, but in one of the replies above, I
almost said "personal care products" instead of "Adirondack chair".

I live in Vermont, and we have a vibrant network of local markets as well as a thriving trade web. It's a workable model that makes for happier people
and better, more resilient communities.

Originally posted by criticalmindseed
If there is a need and there are people out of work then the two should cancel each other out.
We use the barter system here at our farm when ever possible.
Great post

That's awesome. I remember as a kid, trading live chickens and eggs for bushels of veggies. Helping a neighbor harvest a crop if they needed help,
they in turn were there for you if you needed it.

A lot of people today think if it's not store bought, and they didn't pay a lot of money for it, it has less value. Those are the people I worry
about if TSHTF. They haven't been raised with the concept of bartering....just looting...

However, we can trade for goods and services. Let me put it to you this way: if you could trade food for an Adirondack your neighbor knocked
together, would you still go to Wallymart for a deck chair? Or, if you are, say, an unemployed teacher, wouldn't it be dandy to trade tutoring for
that same Adirondack chair?

And that's the catch. Trade is the only way this really works, but what else do you have to do with all that free time?

As a Theatrical Artisan, I can make most anything. however, I cannot convince my neighbors to fair trade for made goods. I bid out about a year ago
some custom bar stools for my good friend who was remodeling his kitchen. He decided to go with a large supply store because the costs were so much
lower. Even though I would be providing him with a product that would have better materials and would last generations. Independent artisans cannot
sustainably compete with corporations

Not too long ago, teens weren't having their development stalled in the glorified holding pens we like to call high schools. They were apprenticed to
a master, and they learned a trade. Mostly, they learned how to make things, and their customers consisted of their neighbors and folks from other
outlying communities.

Now that the only thing going are service jobs, people are being kept out of the workforce well into their twenties, and often into their thirties
(institutions of higher learning being just another, more costly pen). This is an unsustainable model, for a variety of pretty straightforward
reasons.

The revival of artisanal trade is the remedy, and it requires no outside authority to structure or administer it. It only requires that we support and
take care of one another.

As a Theatrical Artisan, I can make most anything. however, I cannot convince my neighbors to fair trade for made goods. I bid out about a year ago
some custom bar stools for my good friend who was remodeling his kitchen. He decided to go with a large supply store because the costs were so much
lower. Even though I would be providing him with a product that would have better materials and would last generations. Independent artisans cannot
sustainably compete with corporations

I hear you, dude. I know several people who have run into difficulties negotiating a fair trade. And, unfortunately, there's gonna be some folk that
can't take the long view and realize that buying cheap crap is more ultimately more expensive than buying artisanal.

But we can work all that out, if we all take a look at the larger picture and take account of the real costs of convenience. Millions are miserable
so that we can have our cheap, shoddy goods. And the last time I checked, we aren't the happier for this bargain either.

This is an excellent idea, and one I've been thinking about for several years now--in terms of "how to fix the hole this country's/world's
in", that is.

It had occurred to me that once upon a time in this country, people were their own "bosses". If we complain about outsourcing and losing our jobs,
we allow ourselves and our destinies to be controlled by the big corporations. If we sit around and wait for "somebody else" to employ us and "save
us", we will be royally screwed...and deserve what we get.

WE are the ones we've been waiting for.

WE can be our own bosses.
WE can make the rules and control our own destinies.
WE can rebuild this world--to OUR liking, not to theirs.

My heart breaks for you. Yes, I remember when artisan made furniture was highly prized. An heirloom passed down in the family, much sought after by
siblings. Now it's mass produced press-board junk that is built to fall apart quickly. No pride in craftsmanship, nor ownership.

The difference between success and failure depends on creativity, quality, innovation, hard work--but most of all, the willingness to keep
trying until you get it right, rather than giving up after only a few times.

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